Frank Beach, the dean of Rockford's City Council, asked me to speak last Thursday at the neighborhood association meeting at First Covenant Church.

Beach, R-10, was first elected alderman in 1981. Many mayors have come and gone throughout that time, and Beach's ward still retains its quiet, residential character. But some residents at the neighborhood meeting - about 30 attended - are worried about changes that don't reflect that, specifically a proliferation of gambling emporiums in the area.

Take East State Street between Fairview Boulevard and Alpine Road, and even east of Alpine. What is happening along that strip does not make Rockford more attractive to people coming in from out of town, or for people who live around there.

A quick drive along East State shows a former restaurant that's been converted to a bar and video gambling shop, another gambling shop up the street whose name sounds like a bordello, cash-for-your-firstborn stores, a cigarette store.

Signs that say "SLOTS!" do not indicate a thriving community.

I asked the audience what they thought of this phenomenon.

"Potterville," said one woman. That's the nasty town in "It's a Wonderful Life" that would have replaced virtuous Bedford Falls, N.Y., if good old George Bailey hadn't lived. If she thought of that strip as Potterville, others do, too.

I've supported a casino for Rockford, and still do. Such an attraction would likely have a restaurant and offer entertainment, making it a tourist attraction.

Instead of that, we've got the worst of the worst because of a recent state law that allows a bar to have five, state-sanctioned gambling machines on premises. The idea was to give neighborhood pubs another source of cash, lest they go out of business due to changing behavioral trends - people just don't go out as much as they used to.

The original proponent of this law was Rockford's own Zeke Giorgi, a 29-year state House member who wanted to make life better for the "little guys" who own small bars.

Zeke probably didn't foresee what's taking place now. New places are springing up mainly to take advantage of gambling machines and serve some drinks on the side. That's all I can figure, because people sure weren't lining up to open small taverns before the gambling machine law took effect. Small taverns were closing.

The neighbors who spoke up at the meeting last week were against a proposed bar/video gambling shop in Rural Oaks. They said it's out of character with the neighborhood and with other retail stores there. They're hopeful the bar will be stopped by the Zoning Board and the City Council.

I'm not against gambling on moral grounds, although the delays at the gas station caused by future losers buying lottery tickets occasionally makes me think evil thoughts. But I figure if people want to throw money into the wind, that's their business.

Page 2 of 2 - I have gambled exactly $5 in my life, at an Indian casino in northern Wisconsin, and that was to be polite in the presence of the avid gambler I was with that day. The bright, flashing lights were fun, but the house always wins.

There's an element of truth to what the woman at the neighborhood meeting said. East State is beginning to look like Potterville. Is that how we want to transform Rockford?